To become a Prince
by InuYame
Summary: InuYasha and the gang find a hanyou lying on the road. What happens as they find out more about the halfbreed? And what will happen as the hanyou finds out more about the others? IY&Kag, IY&IYa, M&S, K&Kag, Sess?
1. Finding her

**Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic ever! It's better then it sounds and I really need to get working on it but please read and review! I may not update untill you do! Thanks for reading! . . .if you do.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Takahashi's characters or story lines or anything else of his. I do however wish really badly that I had a well to the Fuedal Era! I want InuYasha! Ummm, you may proceed.**

It was a normal day in Feudal Japan. InuYasha was chasing Shippo in circles for joking around and Sango was slapping Miroku for touching her. Kagome walked ahead of them with Kirara on her shoulder through the long grass trampled into a path by travelers.

They were on their way to the next town, which was more than two days walk, to buy some food. InuYasha had eaten the last of the noodles when Shippo wasn't looking. Naturally Kagome 'sat' him for it, but that didn't change the fact that they were out of food. She was taking in the scenery of clouds, trees, and flowers when…

"Eeeeaaagh! InuYasha! Are you okay?" Kagome looked down at the body in front of her. Something was different, very different. 'I thought he was behind me,' she thought to herself perplexed.

"What Kagome? I'm back here!" Kagome turned around to see InuYasha walking up behind her. "Are _you_ alright?"

"Mmhm, no need to yell, but look at this." When InuYasha saw it he fell over (Anime style). That was it; the person in front of them was a girl.

By now the others had come up to look. Shippo stared at the unconscious body and yelled, "Oh no! Not another InuYasha!" This comment receiving a low growl from InuYasha.

Suddenly the body stirred, "Hmm? Who are you people?" Then, seeing InuYasha who was pretty close to her at this point, screamed, "Aaaah! A double!" and fainted. Everyone looked down at the mirror image. She looked just like InuYasha. She had the same long, silver hair; the same fangs and claws; and even the same dog-ears! The only difference was that she was a girl and that she had a long, fluffy, silver tail.

Shippo, still not understanding anything said aloud "I didn't know InuYasha had a twin sister."

"That's 'cause I don't." he replied. Then, picking the girl up, he looked at the others and said, "We should find a place to rest and eat." Everyone nodded their heads and they resumed their walking. Everyone was casting glances at the girl on InuYasha's back.

"What do you think she was doing out here?" Sango asked. "She's lucky we found her, who knows what would have happened to her."

"I don't know," said Miroku. "But, whoever she is, she looks like she could really use some help."

"Yeah," InuYasha answered. Then catching on to what Miroku meant added, "not yours though. I don't think she needs anything else to worry about. Besides, what demon would be stupid enough to fall for you?"

Miroku sighed in defeat. 'I would.' Sango thought quietly.

After a few hours they found a cute little cottage with three beds. Kagome, Sango, and the girl were each to have one. Miroku, of course, had to argue. "I think InuYasha and Kagome should sleep together and Sango and I can sleep together. The girl can have the other one." At this, InuYasha, Kagome, and Sango all blushed a bright red exchanging looks while Shippo started giggling. SMACK! Sango slapped Miroku.

"Oh well, it was worth a shot."

"Hey, you forgot about me!" yelled Shippo. Kirara mewed in agreement.

"Don't worry Shippo, you can sleep with me." Kagome said to the young kitsune.

"Good, because it's way too cold to sleep on the floor by myself." He chattered through shaking teeth.

InuYasha sat the mysterious girl down on her bed. They were all getting their stuff put down and sort of waiting for the girl to wake up. They were all tired and started to doze off. Kagome sat up in her bed and pulled her journal out of her backpack. "Huh? What's that Kagome?" InuYasha asked her making her start.

"Geez, I thought you were asleep! Don't scare me like that InuYasha!"

"Sorry, jeez. Would you mind telling me what that book is your holding?"

"Oh, this?" She said while holding it up a little. "Just a little book I like to write stuff in."

"What kind of stuff? _Secret_ stuff? Let me see it!" He said reaching out for it.

"Yes, secret stuff," she said hugging it to her so he couldn't grab it, "but mostly just what happens here. You know, in the Feudal Era." She smiled. She hoped InuYasha wouldn't ever try to read it while she wasn't looking; it was mostly about him!

"So your telling me you just right down what happens all the time? That sounds pretty boring." He just wanted her to think that. Maybe she wouldn't hide it so far in her backpack and he could get a peek at it every once in a while. It almost made him smile, but of course he couldn't let her see that. Then she'd get suspicious.

"Oh, what would you know, InuYasha? You're so insensitive. I guess I'll just have to say it…"

"No! No! I didn't mean it! Please! Don't say it! Just-"

"Oh quit trying to stop me already, I was just joking. No need to freak out or anything. Hey, look InuYasha," she said, noticing his ears prick up, "She looks like she's coming to."

Just then, the girl sat up on her elbows and looked around. "Where am I, and who are you?" she asked Kagome, apparently not remembering anything.

"InuYasha, wake the others up." She whispered.

"What, time is it?" asked Shippo sleepily. Then noticing the girl said, "Oh, she's awake," and sat up.

Kagome sat down next to the girl and introduced them all. Then she proceeded to explain what had happened. "Kagome's giving her the _long_ version of the story? She _does_ love to talk…" Sango murmured to Miroku and the small youkai on the bed.

"Yeah, now the poor girl's probably really confused and she won't even be able to get a word in," noted Shippo.

"And we don't even know her name!" Miroku added in. "I guess we'll just have to wait till she finishes." A mew was heard from Kirara in agreement.

Finally Kagome slowed down, getting to the end of the story. The girl took Kagome's pause to introduce herself. "I'm sorry about all this. I'm InuYame. I hope I haven't caused you any problems."

"Not at all!" InuYasha shot in. Everyone looked at him in astonishment and he blushed a little. "You should get some rest. We'll, I mean, _I'll_ wake you up when dinner's ready." He added looking at the others warningly. Then he turned around and rushed into the woods leaving no sound behind him. InuYame laid down with a look of confusion on her face and quickly fell asleep when she felt the pillow under her head.

"What was that all about?" asked Shippo clueless.

"Clearly," Sango said as they all turned to her, "clearly, InuYasha likes InuYame."

"That jerk!" Kagome shouted. "The nerve of him sometimes! It just makes me want to tear his little ears off and throw 'em in the dirt and let some old fool run them over in his car!" Kagome stomped out towards the trees, muttering curses under her breath. The others just looked on in amazement.

"What's gotten into _her_?" Miroku asked Sango. SMACK! "Ow! Jeez, it was just a question!"

"Yeah, a stupid one," answered Shippo. Miroku glared at him, wondering what the little kitsune knew about anything besides acorns. "Hey guys?" They all looked at Shippo now. "What's a car?"

**Ha! Poor Shippo! Anyway, R&R! Thanks!**


	2. Food and Forest

**Sencond chapter! Please read! This one's better than the last chapter so I hope you like it!**

Miroku and Shippo had gone foraging for food while Sango sat outside of the hut tending the fire. She was thinking quietly as she listened to the soft sounds of the young hanyou girl sleeping inside. It was getting rather dark and she was hoping that Miroku and Shippo would hurry up so she wouldn't have to sit alone in the blackness with the fire as the only light. 'Well,' she thought, 'at least I have Kirara with me. I'm not totally alone.' Kirara was half dozing in her lap, still alert of any noises that might mean danger. Her little black nose twitched as it smelled herbs coming from the trees in front of them where the monk and kitsune had entered the woods.

"Hello Sango." She heard the monk say. "We've brought back some herbs, seeds, mushrooms, and whatever else we could find. There really isn't much out there to eat so we'll just have to survive on this for now." Nothing was heard from the little fox though, since he was sleeping in one of Miroku's hands. His other hand was holding tightly onto one of the straps that held the large bag of food on his back.

"That looks sort of heavy. Here, I'll help with that." Sango said as she got up from the ground. Kirara jumped up transforming and took Shippo inside so they could sleep a little more before dinner. Sango could tell that Miroku had no idea what to make with these odd kinds of food. "That's okay Miroku. I'm sure you couldn't have missed anything, the bags almost full! I'll just make a stew like Kagome taught me. There won't be any meat but we can make do with what we've got. There should be plenty for all of us."

"Good, I was really worried we wouldn't have enough to eat." There were two small, low growls and they laughed a little. "Sounds like we're hungry. I'm not surprised; we've been traveling so hard with little sleep. It'll be good to have a nice rest tonight."

"Yeah, if InuYasha doesn't wake us up bright and early to keep going. He's just too stubborn sometimes. I swear, one day he'll drive us all to faint in our steps and he'll have to carry us all while riding on Kagome's bike." They laughed again at the strange thought.

"Oh, I doubt he'd do that. He'll want to make sure that, InuYame was it?" He continued with Sango's nod. "Yes, he'll definitely want to make sure she's up to traveling. We might actually get a leisurely walk in for once! Either way, let's get cooking!"

"I agree." She said sitting down again at the fire with Miroku. "We'll finally have it easy for a little while. Oh, Miroku? Did you see InuYasha or Kagome while you were out there? I was just wondering because they've been out there for a while and I'm starting to get kind of worried. Who knows what they're doing."

"Actually, I haven't heard anything out there. I was surprised. I thought I'd hear InuYasha slamming into the ground or _something_. It's just so unlike them. I'm afraid InuYasha really messed up this time."

"Yeah, I know." Sango sighed concernedly. "Poor Kagome, I just hope she's alright."

Miroku just nodded and they continued to cook the stew with the water in the bucket by the fire. As Sango stirred it Miroku shifted his sitting position so he was closer to her and leaning in slightly. Sango blushed a light pink but Miroku didn't seem to notice. He just kept putting the food into the pot of water. When he was done and the stirring slowed down. Sango started to lean on Miroku as he put his arm around her.

Suddenly but quietly, Miroku spoke. "You must be tired Sango. We haven't had a decent rest in ages. Here, I'll take you in so you can sleep." He started to move away to help her up but Sango resisted.

"No, really, I'm fine," she lied. Miroku leaned back in and they sat there under the light of the stars and full moon together, waiting for the others to return. 'This is so peaceful. Thank you Miroku." she thought to herself. 'If only this could last.'

'Ah Sango, you do look so beautiful under the moonlight.' Miroku thought. (AWWW!)

----------with InuYasha----------

InuYasha was upset, embarrassed, hurt, confused; he was so many things. Running from tree to tree, jumping from branch to branch, he took his mixed feelings out on whatever unfortunate form of nature happened to be where he was. He wanted to yell and scream out but was afraid Kagome would hear. He figured she would be in the woods now too. She shouldn't be alone at this time of night but he didn't want to find her yet, not _quite_ yet. He wasn't ready to explain anything she might ask him. Actually, he didn't understand half of it himself. All he could do was fume and think, slice a tree in half and think.

"This is just great. Why the hell did this have to happen? Some damn hanyou girl had to come along and ruin everything for me! Idiot! It's all my fault too! I just _had_ to have those noodles, didn't I? Damn it! If only I could figure out exactly what's happening! I feel, I think I feel, oh I don't know. Is it caring? Compassion? Understanding? She's probably been in all of the exact same situations I have. But still, can I already like this girl this much? Can I actually be falling for her after such a short time? I can't, damn it! I'm going to become a full demon and I can't go around falling in love with half demons and mortals like in the past! It just can't happen!"

"Oh why did she have to show up?"

He cut another tree down, creating a deep thud on the ground. Jumping into the air he couldn't help it, he exploded into screams of anger, depression, and confusion. Sobbing heavily now, not caring about the tears streaming down his face, he shouted out to the whole world, "WHY ME? WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH? WHYYYYY?"

In the distance, the others looked up towards the scream. And much farther away, Sesshoumauru looked towards his brother, almost in concern; and in a far off village, Kaede and Kikyo knew something was wrong. Nothing could hide it; InuYasha's world had just started to fall apart.

-----------with Kagome----------

Kagome had been wandering through the woods lost in her thoughts. She kept saying the same thing over and over out of frustration.

"Stupid good-for-nothing jerk! What is wrong with him anyway? Honestly, we'd almost be better off without InuYasha. I just wish I'd never fallen down that well sometimes. Oh, what am I saying? I love it here! I couldn't imagine living without being able to visit the Feudal Era. I'd miss them all too much if I was stuck in the modern age. I just don't know what to do.

There really was nothing she _could_ do about any of it. It was partially her fault they found InuYame anyway.

"I feel bad for her though. Soon she'll find out just what she's in the middle of and we'll have this huge mess on our hands. InuYasha'll probably like her tons more than me and tell me to go home and stay there again. It isn't InuYame's fault we found her though. Jeez this is getting confusing."

"I should probably start heading back. Miroku and Sango should be done cooking by now. I hope it's good, I sure am hungry." With that she started heading back to camp.

----------back at camp----------

"What do you _mean_ you don't know where Kagome is? Damn it! You do know you're supposed to be looking out for her don't you?"

"Calm down InuYasha. It's not our fault she wandered off." Miroku said.

"Wandered off? Why I oughtta…"

"It's okay InuYasha. Something you did upset her, as usual, and she went into the woods to vent. How harmful could that be? And besides, we're not the ones Lady Kaede told to watch out for Kagome."

"Errrrrr, fine! I'll just go out and look for her now then. You happy? I really shouldn't have to do this at all." He started turning around to reenter the forest and find Kagome.

"No need to." Kagome said with an edge to her voice. She came into the firelight where everyone could see her angry, tear-stained face.

"Kagome," Sango asked her, "are you okay? You look a little upset."

"No Sango. Thank you, but I'm fine. Nothing a little food can't take care of. Don't bother waking the others; they need to sleep. We'll save this in one of my mom's containers and heat it up for them later." Miroku nodded and the four of them sat around the fire to eat. Kagome passed around the dishes and spoons to them and served the stew. InuYasha distanced himself from the others but wasn't too far off to talk to.

When they were done, Kagome put their things in a plastic bag and into her backpack. They all then went into the hut to sleep. As soon as they laid down they fell asleep. All of them except, of course, InuYasha.

He thought about all the things that had happened yet again. All of a sudden Kagome's diary passed through his mind. 'I wonder what she'll write in there about this!' he thought. 'Maybe I can find out what made her so mad tomorrow.' Little did he know that she would not find time to write in it for quite a while when he fell asleep.

**Please R&R everyone! Can't wait to hear from you!**


	3. In the Night

**Okay everyone, here's chapter three! Time to see what happens their first night with another hanyou. I just hope that my writing's getting a little better and that you like it. So anyway, please read on!**

Somewhere beyond the hut and before the forest, a small tornado whipped across a meadow and into the trees. Behind it, two figures raced after it, never being fast enough to catch up. As the tornado found its way through the maze of branches and leaves it stopped in the middle of a clearing. The wind resided and a figure appeared from within. His tail, long black hair, and elfish ears caught the moonlight at the points, making him a silver silhouette in the dark. The other two figures finally appeared at the break in the trees and stopped, panting. They also caught the moonlight, but never quite in the same majestic way of the first.

The still silence was broken.

"Listen, if you two idiots can't keep up then just go home. I don't need you two fools dragging me down all the time."

"Oh come on Kouga," Ginta said, "You know we don't have Jewel Shards in our legs. That's the only thing keeping us behind, it's not our fault you're the one with the Shards."

"Ginta, are you telling me to lay off? Do you have the nerve to tell your leader to stop?"

"No, no! It's not that Kouga," Hakkaku rushed to calm him, "it's just that it's getting late and we should rest. If we keep running around like this, we won't have any strength left to fight Naraku with if we find him."

"Hmmm," Kouga reconsidered, "I guess you're right, but I just caught Kagome's scent again. She's too close to pass up this time. I don't want to lose her to that mutt again. I should take her while everyone's sleeping. That'll show that InuYasha a thing or two. Stay here."

With that, he was off again. Hakkaku and Ginta could barely catch a glimpse of him before he was gone.

"Well, that's that." They said and fell asleep on the ground.

"So this is where they're sleeping." Kouga had stopped outside of the hut and looked around. He saw the burnt out remains of the fire that had helped him find the traveling group. Then he peered inside of the small building and saw them sleeping. He noticed another being who wasn't normally with them but he figured it was just someone who had decided to tag along with them.

Walking in he saw Kagome and walked up to her bed. "Hey, Kagome," he whispered into her ear. "Wake up Kagome."

Kagome roused a little, just barely awake. "Who is it?" she muttered. "I don't want to go to school!"

This surprised Kouga a little but he just helped her sit up on bed. After she woke up a little more she realized who it was. "Oh, it's you Kouga. What are you doing here?"

He smiled, "I just came to say hello to you my love." Kagome blushed a little.

"Say, Kouga? Would you mind taking me back to the Bone Eaters Well? I want to get away for a little while. Would that be too much trouble for you to do?"

"Why of course not Kagome! Anything for the one I love! I suppose you'll be wanting to ride that contraption of yours?"

"No Kouga, that's okay. If you can carry me, that'd be fine."

"Are you sure? Wouldn't that hurt your back or something?"

"If anything, I think it would hurt _your_ back. I'm so used to riding on InuYasha's back that it doesn't bother me at all anymore."

Kouga grimaced at the idea of Kagome and InuYasha being so close to each other. "Okay, grab your things and hop on." He kneeled down on the floor so she could get onto his back more easily. Kagome put on her oversized backpack and got onto Kouga's back. It felt a little strange to her at first, being on someone else's back, but she got used to it rather quickly. "You ready Kagome?" he asked her. She nodded and he ran off towards Hakkaku and Ginta.

When they got to the clearing, Kouga kicked the two wolf demons that were sleeping to wake them up. "Hey!" Ginta said. "Oh, Kagome! Nice to see you again!"

"You to Ginta, and Hakkaku!" She smiled at them and let Kouga talk.

"Okay you guys, I'm taking Kagome here to the well so she can go back home for a little while. You guys can just head up to the mountain for now, I'll see you later."

"Okay Kouga. Can we sleep here for tonight though?"

"I don't care, just make sure you get to the mountain before I do 'cause I don't wanna have to come looking for you two."

"All right, we'll be there. Bye Kagome!" They waved goodbye too Kagome and Kouga as they sped off and laid back down to get some well-deserved rest.

----------at the well---------

Kagome had fallen asleep on Kouga's back. He smiled as he sat on the edge of the well. 'One day Kagome,' he thought, 'one day I will make you my wife. Then everything will be alright and we will live happily ever after.'

"Kouga," Kagome whispered. "Just jump into the well. Since I'm with you it should just let both of us through. I can't promise anything though."

"If you want Kagome." He stood up on the ledge and jumped in. To his surprise a bright purple light flashed all around them and next thing he knew he could hear purring coming from outside of the well.

"Don't worry, that's just Buyo, our cat." Kagome said at the look on his face.

Kouga jumped out of the well and found himself in a small room. He walked up the steps and out the door. "Just go to the front door, someone should be awake." So he went up to the door next to where the car was (not that he knew it was a car…). He let Kagome down and she knocked weakly on the door. Kouga knocked too, figuring that no one would be able to hear the little noise she was making. Slowly, he heard someone approach the door warily from the inside.

"Who is it?" He heard a woman's voice say. Figuring he'd just scare the woman, he let Kagome answer.

"It's just me mom." The door opened showing a surprised look on her mom's face. "Me and Kouga." Her mom let them pass into the warmth of the house.

"I thought no one else could come through the well but you and InuYasha." She said.

"That mutt's been in this house? Why he oughtta…"

"So you're Kouga huh? I've heard so much about you, I'm glad to finally meet you!" Kagome's mom put out her hand to shake Kouga's.

"Ummm, nice to meet you too." He didn't know what to do with her hand so he just picked it up and kissed it.

"What a gentleman Kagome! Please, sit down, both of you."

After Kagome blushed she continued. "Yeah, I didn't know anyone else could come down the well either. I guess as long as they're with me or InuYasha they can come through. I just hope we don't try jumping through with a demon hanging on to us. That might not turn out so good."

"Well, I sure hope that _doesn't_ happen." her mom said. "Anyway, you two look tired. Kagome, why don't you go upstairs and change? When you get in bed I'll come in and say goodnight. Kouga, we don't have a guest room so, do you mind sleeping on the couch? You can't go back without Kagome and she needs to sleep." Kagome had already gone upstairs since she was about to collapse.

"Um, sure I guess. But can I say goodnight too?"

"Yes, of course. Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"No thanks, ummm…"

"Just call me mom."

"Uhh, okay."

A few minutes later Kagome's mom went upstairs to say goodnight to Kagome. Kouga had just been sitting on the couch staring at the wall so he went up when she came down.

"Kagome?"

"Yeah Kouga?"

"Can I sleep in here? That 'couch' is sort of stiff. I'd rather sleep on the floor and watch after you."

"Yeah, that's fine." And before she caught herself she was saying, "If InuYasha can sleep in here than so can you."

Kouga was practically yelling. "What the hell? You let that mutt sleep in here too?"

"Ssshhh, quiet down. You'll upset mom. Besides, he's slept in my bed too, it's not a big deal."

He lowered his voice but this last comment left him raging. "WHAT! You slept with that mutt? How could you Kagome?"

Kagome's face went all red. "What! I haven't _slept_ with him! I haven't slept with anybody! All he did was fall asleep while he was watching me! Jeez, just calm down!"

"Good, you're still mine for the taking." He sat down against the wall and fell asleep.

'Finally, some peace.' Kagome thought. She fell asleep without much trouble but those words kept ringing in her head, willing her to stay awake. 'You slept with that mutt? How could you Kagome?' Kouga obviously cared about her. But now that she thought about it, so did InuYasha. 'I just need some sleep.' And that's exactly what she got, even if it was troubled by a strange dream…

**OOOOHH! Clifie! I hope my next chapter turns out okay... Please R&R! Thanks for reading everyone!**


	4. A Delirious Dream

**Hello everybody! I am sooooo verry sorry it took me so long to get this fourth chapter posted! Three weeks! Jeez! I'm not totally sure why it happened either. I mean, I had stuff to do, and the Thanksgiving came--I know, not very good excuses. But the biggest thing was that I didn't know what to write for the dream! So last night I just laid down on the couch and thought for half an hour and it's finished! Finally!**

**Well, this isn't the longest chapter, and the 'dream' part could've been written better. And it depends on how you rate things, but the rating of the 'dream' part may be shoved up slightly, I'm not sure. Please read anyway though! I need some comments! Good _and_ bad! So go ahead, read and write whatever you want when you review!**

As Kagome fell asleep her mind started wandering. She started thinking about Kouga and InuYasha and what Kouga had said. All of this confusion formed itself into a strange dream that she would never forget.

---------The Dream---------

Kagome found herself walking into her room to go to sleep. She was already in her pajamas and was going to get into bed. Then she stopped straight in her tracks. InuYasha was lying on her bed, on his back, bare-naked.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING INUYAHSA!"

His ears twitched and he opened his eyes. "Hello Kagome! I'm sorry if I startled you. I just thought it might be nice to give you a little surprise after your long day at work. I guess if you don't want too Honey, I'll put my pajamas back on."

"Honey? Did you just call me _Honey_?" He looked at her a little strangely.

"Well, that is what spouses call each other." Then he planted a huge kiss on her forehead and went over to the dresser.

'_Spouses? Then that means we're married!_' Kagome looked down at her left hand and saw a huge diamond on her ring finger. '_What? Oh God, this is _not_ happening!_' She couldn't really comprehend it yet so she ran downstairs to the living room to think.

The doorbell suddenly decided that this was a great time to ring. '_Great, now what?_' Kagome knew she couldn't just let whomever it was stand out there so she answered the door. When she opened it, Kouga was standing in front of her.

"Hello Sweetie! I missed you sooo much at work today! I'm just happy to see you again!"

She barely had a chance to say "Ummm, me too…" before Kouga embraced her and kissed her passionately on the lips. "Thanks!" was all she could manage at the moment. Then she realized it. InuYasha and Kouga were both in her house, and kissing her! "Wait Kouga!"

"What is it Kagome?"

"Why are _you_ kissing me? I'm married to InuYasha! Didn't _you_ know?" She added the emphasis on you because she had just barely found out herself.

"What? Of course you are! You're married to both of us! It's okay if you forgot. It happened only recently and this law is so new…"

"What law?"

"Oh, you remember. The one that states that any citizen of Japan may have as many spouses as they wish."

"WHAT? Who made _that_ up? That's ridiculous!"

"Oh, I don't know who made it up, but it sure isn't ridiculous! How else would you be able to have the two people you love? And InuYasha his three?"

She looked down at her ring again and took it off. There were two rings! And the larger one had 'Wolf's Love' engraved on the inside. '_Figures._' She thought to herself. Then the last thing Kouga had said hit her. "Did you just say InuYasha is married to three different women?" Kouga nodded and Kagome could feel her face heating up in rage.

Again, another unneeded annoyance – two actually – came running through the door and up the stairs. "Oh InuYasha!" they shouted as they rushed past.

"Was that…?"

"Yep. That was Kikyo," This one Kagome expected. "And the other was InuYame. You remember her."

"Yeah, I remember her." Kagome mumbled under her breath in agitation. Was this really happening? How could InuYasha love three different people? And why did he love InuYame? She could hear them talking with InuYasha and each receiving a deep, open-mouthed kiss. "I didn't get one of those…" she said in anger.

"What was that Kagome?" She shook her head as to shake off her comment. "Well then, do you want to have some fun?" This Kouga said in his most appealing tone of voice while raising one of his eyebrows. Kagome knew what this meant.

"Uhhh, no thanks Kouga. I have to think about a few things. Thanks for offering though; InuYasha just sort of pushed it on me."

"That's just the way the mutt is. I don't know shy you married him anyway; always being such a jerk! Well, if you don't want too, I think I'll just go to bed."

"Kouga?" Kagome said as he started down the hallway. He turned around and put his hands on his hips. "How many wives do _you_ have?"

"Just you Kagome, you're the only one I could ever truly love." Then he went into one of the rooms at the end of the hallway.

This made Kagome so confused and annoyed that she laid down on the couch and started to fall asleep from exhaustion.

----------End of Dream----------

Kagome woke up in a state of complete bewilderment. She sat up in bed and looked at her alarm clock. It read 2:27 meaning that everyone else should still be asleep. Looking around the room she saw Kouga, still in his corner asleep with his head up on his arms from watching her. The dream rushed around in her head again, making her confused. What did this dream mean? Did she actually like Kouga? She'd never thought of him in that way but now that she did she noticed that he was usually more loving than InuYasha ever had been. '_This is crazy._' She thought. '_I don't love either of them. It's just not possible._' She laid back down onto her pillow. Turning to her side and slipping a hand underneath her pillow she started to cry very softly. Her small whimpers were barely audible but the tears were streaming down her face. She glanced at Kouga. He didn't have as good of hearing as InuYasha did so he wouldn't be able to hear her crying. '_But InuYasha would be able to. Would he wake up if I was crying? Would he try to calm me down? He hates to see me cry, but would he let me if he thought I was asleep?_' She couldn't bare the thought of InuYasha ignoring her and started to cry more. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose to clear her throat. She tossed it into the trash can and settled under the covers. Feeling torn between two loves and as if her real feelings were being ignored by them yet not completely known to herself she tried to sleep again. Eventually it came but she continued to cry in her sleep. Everything was going wrong, but how was it happening so fast?

When she woke up in the morning it was 9:15. "Oh, forget about school. I have to get back to the Feudal Era." Then she realized Kouga was standing beside her bed.

"So you wanna go back huh? Then let's get going." His nose twitched a little and he looked at her pillow. "Wait, were you crying last night Kagome?"

She decided to lie about this. "Uhhh, no, I guess I dribble when I'm asleep, that's all. Just let me get dressed and we can go, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Kagome nodded. "Okay then Kagome, if you say so. I'll just be down in the living room." He turned around and left the room.

"Wow, he couldn't even tell I was lying about crying." She said after he was out of the room. "I guess he's not quite as sensitive as I thought."

With that she got dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, repacked her bag, and went downstairs.

"You ready to go Kagome? You were only here for such a short time. I guess you just needed a little time off, huh. Well, I packed you some food to take with you for your friends."

"Thanks mom! I should still have a little room left in here…" She took off her backpack and stuffed the food inside the little remaining space. "I guess that's it. You need anything Kouga?"

"Nope, I'm good. I'll be waiting by the well. See ya later mom!" he shouted as he ran outside.

"Mom?" Kagome asked. "Did he seriously just say that? It makes it sound like we're married or something!"

"That's okay sweetie, I told him he could call me that. Besides, you've never met his mom anyway, have you?"

"Actually, now that you mention it I haven't! I never thought of that. The only female wolf demon I've ever seen is Ayame! Oh well, see you in a while mom! I'll miss you!" She gave her mom a goodbye hug and went to the door.

"I'll miss you too!" yelled Mrs. Higurashi as Kagome left the house.

"Okay, Kouga, let's go!" She looked to her side where Kouga was standing and grabbed his hand. Then they both jumped into the well and ended up in the past.

"So Kagome, where're we headed now?" Kouga looked at her with his bright blue to see what she'd say.

"Back to the others of course. I have a job to do, even if it is with a selfish jerk!" she replied.

"Glad you finally see it my way Kagome! Let's go then. Hop on!" So Kagome got on his back and they left, running off in the eye of a tornado towards the woods she had left only the night before.

**Well, how bad was it? I hope it wasn't _that_ bad. Anyway, please R&R. I've only got three so a few more would be great! Thanks again to my readers because I never thought I'd have any! Love you guys! Hopefully the next chapter will start to explain the title a little bit. OOO! I just got an idea! One of your favorite characters will be making and apperance! So tune in next time to--To Become a Prince! Thank you!**


	5. Fluffy Encounters

**Sorry it took me so long to get this up! I'm getting really bad at this... Anyway, the ending's a real surpriser so I hope you like it!**

Back at the hut, everyone was searching for Kagome. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara were in the woods, looking in the trees and on the ground for any sign of her. InuYasha and Shippo were taking their time examining the area around the little house. InuYasha was sniffing the ground only to find traces of Kouga's scent. "Damn it! What was he doing here?" InuYame was still inside laying on her cot. '_She could be helping…_' InuYasha thought. He knew she wasn't sleeping; he could hear the difference in her breathing. She was fully awake but didn't seem to care about Kagome's absence at all. '_She's got the same ears and nose I've got yet she lays there waiting for us to give up! Damn it! If only she wasn't so good looking._'

Everyone met up in front of the hut looking distraught. No one had seen Kagome or found any hints of where she might be. "You sure you didn't catch anything InuYasha?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I did catch Kouga's scent though. He must've been here a little before us damn it. He just had to make things difficult for us. I just don't know why I can't pick up Kagome's scent though!"

InuYame had gotten up and was at the door. "Oh, hello InuYame!" Shippo didn't get a reply from her, just a scowl.

"Storm coming." She said simply. "Perhaps we should leave?"

Then they all turned to where she was looking. InuYasha caught the sound of a strong wind tearing through the trees. He got into fighting position and put his right hand on his sword. "It's Kouga, the bastard. What brought him back?"

"Kouga? Who's Kouga?" InuYame looked at the others for an answer but didn't get one. She decided to sit against the wall and watch what was about to happen. '_Who knows,_' she thought, '_maybe it'll get interesting._'

"Maybe he knows where Kagome is InuYasha. At least don't chop his head off till we ask about it." Sango knew he'd take any chance he got to get rid of the wolf demon.

"Fine, but I ain't takin' any chances, you got that?" Sango just nodded.

When the tornado got up to them it stopped and the wind died down. As the air currents went away they could see it was indeed Kouga, but he wasn't alone. Kagome was climbing off of his back and starting towards the others.

"Kagome? Where the hell have you been Kagome? And what were you doing with this pathetic wolf? I want answers, and now! Making us all worry like that, you should have known better than to run off with this naive lowlife!"

"Hey! I ain't pathetic and I ain't no lowlife either! She was just getting away for god's sake! You could give her a break once in a while!"

"Would you two stop yelling?" Kagome screamed at them both. They immediately stopped, knowing what Kagome's temper could do. "I'm fine InuYasha, I can take care of myself."

"Fine, just don't run off again, okay? We've got enough trouble now trying to track down Naraku with InuYame on our hands." Then in a softer voice he asked, "Why'd you leave anyway Kagome? Was something bothering you?"

"Not really. Kouga was apparently looking for me again last night. When he found me, he came into the hut and talked to me a little bit. I don't really know why, but I asked him to take me home for the night and he did. I rode on his back to the well and–"

InuYasha decided to cut in. "You carried her all the way to the well and then you waited for her all night by it? I guess it's not all bad; at least you didn't spend the night together."

Now Kouga decided to join in the conversation too. "Hey, I wouldn't make Kagome do something she didn't want to and besides–"

"Hey! I did not need to hear that! That's not even what I was thinking!"

"What! You sick mutt! _I_ wasn't thinking that either! You've got the story all wrong anyways!"

"Really, well what've I got wrong? You couldn't have possibly gotten through the well and I know Kagome wouldn't spend the night with a rotten wolf! I mean come on,"

The two started having this huge fight while the others looked on in amusement and grimaced every now and then. Luckily Kagome didn't let it last that long, who knows what would've happened.

"Enough! Sit boy!" A scream was heard from InuYasha as he plummeted into the ground. "Can you two just shut up and let me finish the story!"

"Of course Kagome. And thank you for showing InuYasha who was right." After a hard, unforgiving glare from Kagome Kouga added, "I mean, ummm, Sorry!"

"Good. So as I was saying, we got to the well and jumped in. Turns out that as long as we're in contact with the person, InuYasha, we can take other people through the well. I don't know why we didn't think of this earlier. I mean, it's the same thing we do when we take an item back and forth isn't it? Anyway, Kouga spent the night in my room where you usually do and when I got up, we came back. That's about it."

Everyone exchanged glances.

"So you're saying that that so-called wolf slept in _MY_ spot? Am I not good enough for you? You have to have another guy in your bedroom too?"

"It's not like that InuYasha!" Kagome shouted at him.

"Besides InuYasha, how should she know she's upsetting you when you have yet to reveal your feelings to her? Surely you can put some of the blame on yourself."

"I don't need your input Miroku." Sango and Shippo were giggling at InuYasha's blush. "And I don't need you two making fun of me either." He then hit Shippo on the head.

"Ow, that hurt! Kagomeeeeeee!" Shippo whined.

"InuYasha, I'm really getting tired of your attitude. SIT BOY!" CRASH

"AAAGGHHH! What was that for?"

"_That_ was for hurting Shippo. _This_ is for being an inconsiderate jerk!" InuYasha's eyes widened in fear. "SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT BOY!" FWAM There was now a large hole in the ground with a twitching InuYasha crushed at the bottom. "You know, he'd probably go straight through the Earth's crust if I kept saying 'sit'." A groan was heard as InuYasha went a little further down. "Should I try it? No? Then don't be such a jerk!"

"Wow, you go Kagome!" Kouga smiled at her. She tried to high-five him too, but he just waved back looking slightly confused.

"So Kagome,"

"Yeah Miroku?"

"You say you can take people to your time. Does that mean us as well?"

"Of course!"

"How exciting Kagome!" exclaimed Sango. "We can finally see what your family and time look like. And your other friends too!"

"Mhmm. We can have a sleepover and everything!"

This went on for a little while until InuYame got bored with it and went to the hole in the ground. She reached in and lifted InuYasha out by his hand. He mumbled a thanks and went inside the house and laid down on the bed Kagome had used the night before. InuYame then looked at Kagome for a second and thought, '_So he really has feelings for this mortal. Feh, it won't last. Not with me around anyway._'

Kagome looked back at her and smiled, then turned around and said goodbye to Kouga.

"Bye Kagome! I'll catch up with you later!"

"Okay, bye!"

"Well that was interesting!" Sango stated.

"You're telling me!" Kagome added. "I just wish those two could get along. If only InuYasha wasn't so jealous."

"Where is he anyway?" Miroku asked.

"He was in the ground just a second ago," Shippo this time.

"He's inside." InuYame called from inside of the hut. "He's just taking a nap right now. You should all leave him alone."

They all exchanged a look with Kagome. Then Miroku, Sango, and Shippo looked at each other. They were all thinking the same thing '_Oh crap. She really shouldn't make Kagome mad . . . ._' They were all relieved though when Kagome turned and walked towards the water. InuYame just gave them a weird look as they simultaneously let out a huge sigh.

----------With Kagome---------

Thinking to herself '_I wonder what was wrong with InuYame? And the others all gave me that weird look, like I was going to explode or something! Oh well, it's about time for a bath I think._'

She found a place in the river that had been cut off from the rest of it by large boulders. The water was a little warmer there so she started to undress. Leaving her clothes next to the water, she put her toes in. '_Ahhh, nice and hot!_' Then she got in all the way; submersing herself until just her nose and above weren't in the water.

She had almost fallen asleep when she heard a rustle from the bushes. Thinking it was one of the others she spoke up. "Sango? Is that you?" She heard another rustle, but no answer. "InuYasha you bastard! SIT!" She could hear him plow into the ground, but farther off so it couldn't be him. '_He'll get me for that later probably._'

She started looking around frantically. '_Who the heck is it?_' Then, she screamed in awe as she looked up and saw Sesshoumaru standing behind one of the boulders and looking in at her.

**Please R&R! Thanks bunches for reading it!**


	6. Relations

**Hi everyone! I am SOOOOOO very sorry that this one is so late! I was really busy with school. I'd tell you what the assignments were, but you REALLY don't wanna know. Also, I was just on a two-week trip and before that we had relatives over and I was at a sleepover! I've been so bad at getting this done. All that aside though, I think this chapter turned out to be pretty good myself. This chapter explains the title to the story a little bit and puts a few minor hints in about further chapters. Plus, I got a couple more ideas for the story as I was finishing it up today! YAY ME! Okay, well, enough with me talking. Read on!**

"Shut up wench." Kagome quickly covered herself and shut her mouth, afraid of what he would do. "Now tell me Kagome, where is InuYasha? I must speak with him."

Kagome froze for a second, realizing she didn't recall Sesshoumaru ever having used her name. Not quite willing to give up InuYasha's location she said, "Ummm, where are Rin and Jaken? Aren't they usually with you?"

"Honestly, you must know where my half-brother is. Rin and Jaken are in the forest if you must know. I don't like Rin seeing me kill when she's seen a slaughter already. Besides, if she gets in the way and dies again, I'll be forced to use my Tenseiga again."

'_Okay, that's twice now he's surprised me. Well, three if you count him sneaking around._' She was referring to the fact that Sesshoumaru rarely referred to InuYasha as his brother. Also that he had shown a slight sense of sympathy for Rin. Then what he had said sunk in, '_Wait, does he mean to kill InuYasha?_' "Well, umm, if you let me get my clothes I guess I'll take you to him. So if you'd please turn around…."

"You are not the first woman I have seen and I do not think of you as such. I doubt you are the first InuYasha has seen either, even if he is a hanyou. Now if you will please just get up, we can go."

"What! Miroku's there too you know!" '_Well, okay, he wouldn't mind either, seeing me naked. That pervert._' "Just give me a second then."

Kagome hurriedly put her clothes on, not wanting to see what Sesshoumaru does when impatient. Then she got up and started walking next to him, leading him to InuYasha. Not liking the silence that had spread between them, she asked a question. "Wait, you're a dog demon, so why can't you just sniff out InuYasha yourself? Surely a demon doesn't need a human's help to find something so familiar to it." Thinking on what he'd said earlier she added in her head, '_I just hope you don't mean to kill InuYasha._'

Another silence. Sesshoumaru said nothing to answer the question. Then, "I am not here to kill him, Kagome." She was sure he could hear the sigh she let out. "I am only here to discuss something important with him. If he becomes too disagreeable though, I may have to rid myself of his nuisance." As relieved as Kagome was, this didn't help much. She was a little puzzled why he didn't answer her question though. She decided to just let it pass and continued to lead Sesshoumaru.

When they finally got there, they walked straight to the little house. On their way in, Kagome noticed as InuYame straightened up. Glancing at her she was surprised to hear Sesshoumaru say, "Hello InuYame," very blandly and walk past. As soon as they were inside InuYasha shot upright.

"Kagome! What the hell is he doing here?" His right hand went to his Tetsuiga as he glared at his older brother." "Well! Are you going to explain or just stand there?"

Kagome decided not to say anything and just let Sesshoumaru talk. Sesshoumaru gave her a glance that told her to go so she left to go find Sango.

Sesshoumaru looked around but remained standing. When he saw InuYame peering in at the door he called, "InuYame, it is impolite to eavesdrop so I will ask you to leave. I'm sure you have more important places to be anyway. So if you don't mind…." She promptly left without questioning him.

"So what's this all about Sesshoumaru?" InuYasha asked. Come to kill me again? No, that can't be it, you sent the others away and I know you like to have an audience when you murder someone."

"No, InuYasha, I do not require an audience for such a thing, but you are right. I am not here to kill you but to talk." InuYasha looked at him disbelievingly. "It is about InuYame."

"What? What do you know about her?"

"Plenty, but I need your full attention if I am going to tell you what I need to." InuYasha settled down on the bed and just looked up at Sesshoumaru who was slightly amazed that his brother believed him for once. "Good, now I must start out with how we are related. Yes, I understand you know how _we're_ related, but I am referring to all three of us."

"You mean us and InuYame?"

"Yes, I don't think it could have been more obvious. You do realize that you've never met my mother. Beautiful dog demon that she was, she found father weak and left him. I have only seen her once since, about fifty years ago." InuYasha raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. "I found out from her visit that she had found an emperor some time ago named Kyosei and married him. Together they had a child who she had brought with her. The girl was only about two at the time and already resembled you."

"You don't mean…." His eyes widened, his eyebrows arching up.

"Yes InuYasha, my mother's daughter was InuYame. Always having thought that my mother was the stronger demon in the family, I decided to help her with the child for a little while."

"You? Help? A _kid_?" InuYasha asked the question as if it wasn't at all possible for Sesshoumaru to be nice.

"Yes, InuYasha, I helped my mother. Kyosei had banned her from ever returning after she gave birth to my sister and so she needed my help. I was reluctant at first but I could tell InuYame would become stronger than you. Besides, life had become boring for me. The wars weren't so bad yet, higher-level demons were scarce, and you were stuck to a tree, sleeping and vulnerable. It gave me something to do."

Getting bored, InuYasha cut in, "So remind me why I'm listening to all of this."

"You are listening to this InuYasha, because I have received a message from Myoga about Kyosei. He is sick and close to death."

"And I care why?"

"Honestly InuYasha! Has it not sunk into your thick half-demon brain yet? InuYame is royalty! Destined to take her father's place when he dies, she must go back to her land. A demon empress would give us great control over these humans, not to mention the benefits that would be in it for you if you claimed her."

"What! I am NOT going to claim her! And why should I care if she's royalty? So far she's only been a pain in the ass!"

"Yes InuYasha, I figured you thought about her as such, but she doesn't quite know the full extent of all this! If she does, she must be planning to return. I just think you should think about all this and consider the possibilities." With that he huffed loudly, turned around, and left. His long, silver hair flowed in the wind as he jumped into the air and was gone.

"So," InuYasha thought aloud, "I guess we need to have a talk with InuYame."

-----Later-----

"Hey everyone! It's time to eat!" Sango sat with Kirara and Shippo and waited for the others to show up. "Ah, Kagome, I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been?"

Kagome had sat down next to Sango and picked up Kirara. "Not very far off. I've just been thinking a little bit."

"Really? What about? It seems like all you do is think sometimes."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But this time it was Sesshoumaru." Sango looked at Kagome, slightly surprised. "I mean, why do he and InuYasha have to fight all the time? I was walking with Sesshoumaru for a little while earlier and he seemed so nice at the time. He didn't say anything straightforward or anything, but he was concerned about Rin. After spending some time with him, you can tell he's not just some bloodthirsty beast like InuYasha seems to think."

"Wow, sounds to me that you're starting to sort of like Sesshoumaru!" Sango said with a trying smile.

"What? No! That's not it at all!" Kagome blushed a deep red. Sango laughed a little too.

"Hey, what's going on?" InuYasha had just walked up. Miroku and InuYame were trailing behind, talking to each other. Then they all heard a big slap followed by a girlish scream.

"It was just a question!" he yelled. "You didn't have to dig your long fingernails in!"

"Haha! You got what you deserved." Sango laughed a little more.

"Yeah," Shippo added, "I don't think I've ever heard you scream like that before."

"Shut up, Shippo…" Miroku muttered.

They all laughed a little and then sat down to eat. Kagome got her first aid kit and helped Miroku though, after seeing that there was a little blood on his face.

Thinking about his conversation with his brother earlier, InuYasha decided to see if it was true. "So InuYame," he started. She looked up at him. "Where'd you get your fire rat robe? I didn't think there were any others besides mine."

"This? I got it from my mom. She did say she took it from her ex though."

"So your mom had been married before?" Kagome asked, not knowing about what InuYasha had learned.

"Yeah, some dog demon named Taisho." InuYasha was careful not to raise his eyebrows since he'd never actually told anyone else his father's name. "She said he was too weak for her so she left him. Not till after having a son with him though." InuYasha counted himself lucky; the others still didn't see the connection.

"Well, you must be half demon then, no offense," Kagome inquired further, "so your mom must be the demon. In that case, who was your father? If you don't mind telling of course."

"My father is Emperor Kyosei, you may have heard of him. He is dying now though and won't be around much longer."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah, it is sort of sad. I never really knew him though. I was on my way to his village when you guys found me on the road."

"So then," Miroku broke in, rubbing his face, "you must be the heir to his throne after he dies. You are his firstborn aren't you?"

"That I know of, yes," InuYame broke of sounding a little unsure of herself. "The thing is though, it's been around fifty years since I was born. He has most likely had another child by now. If so, they're more likely to get the throne than some hanyou girl. He banned my mother and I when I was born so I doubt he'd ever allow me to rule."

"But if he did let you, seeing as you're his firstborn and all, you would be empress!"

"You're right Sango!" Kagome was wriggling with excitement now. "That would make you the first half demon, or demon for that matter, to have a place in human government! This is so exciting! I wonder if there's anything in my textbooks about this!"

InuYame looked at her a little strangely. "Your what? What's a 'textbook'?" '_Oops!_' Kagome thought. '_I shouldn't have let that slip._'

"Oh, that's not important." She said while waving her hand. "Anyway, what do you think about all of this InuYasha?"

"Yeah, you've barely said a word." said Sango.

"It sounds pretty interesting." he stated, careful not to say too much. Then his voice got a little more professional. "Empress or not though, we still have to find the Sacred Jewel Shards. We've been in this spot for long enough. Tomorrow it's time to get moving again."

Everyone nodded in agreement; they had been there for a couple of days already. With that they all went back to the shack. Once they were inside, everyone went to their cots. When Kagome got to hers she quietly opened up her backpack. Reaching in she took out her journal and a pen. '_There's so much to say right now! I just hope I can get it all on one page! Not that two pages would kill me though…_'

As she was writing, InuYasha caught the scent of the ink. He carefully opened one eye and watched her scribbling in the small book. '_I wonder what she's writing about now. It looks pretty interesting, but I'll have to wait for the right time to sneak a peek at it. Wait, I've got an idea. I just need Kagome to work a few things for me, without her knowing of course. Great, all this just to see what she's writing. It better be good!_'

**So, how was it? Now we know who InuYame really is, but what's with Sesshoumaru being nice (not to mention a peeping-tom)? And is InuYasha going to get a peek at Kagome's diary? What will he find if he does? To find out, just read the upcoming chapters of To Become a Prince (whenever I get them up ;p)**


	7. Getting Home

**Hey guys! I think this is the fastest I've updated yet, but I may be wrong. This chapter doesn't have a whole lot in it, but I think you'll still like it. It actually took an entirely different turn than I thought it would once I started writing it. Now the eight chapter will turn out differently too! Oh well, it'll probably be better the way I've got it now, at least I hope so. Anyway, here's chapter seven. Enjoy!**

Early the next morning when the sun rose, InuYasha got up from where he was sleeping and went outside. He softly leaped off of the ground into one of the tallest trees. As he got to the top he looked around. The weather was good so far and the air was just a little cool. He could tell it would be pretty easy going today which was good since they had InuYame to travel with too now. InuYasha sniffed the air, looking for traces of anyone else in the area. As he did so, he picked up InuYame's scent as she walked outside. He looked down at her and noticed that she was looking up to where he was sitting in the tree. '_She must have smelled me,_' he thought. InuYasha jumped from the tree to go back into the hut to check on the others who he could tell were still sleeping. As he walked past InuYame she put her hand on his right shoulder and whispered to him. "I will not be going with you today, InuYasha. I am going to continue my journey to my father's village. I hope you understand." Then she turned him and herself so they were facing each other. InuYasha looked at her a little confusedly, as if asking what she was going to do. Then InuYame quickly leaned forward and kissed him. It wasn't a long kiss, just long enough to make an impression. She leaned back, looked at him for a second, and was gone, running through the trees like wind passing through.

Bewildered, InuYasha stood there for a second in shock. After a couple of minutes he walked into the shack. He noticed that everyone was still asleep except for Kagome who was just sitting up in bed, yawning. '_I'm lucky,_' he thought, '_any sooner and Kagome would have seen that. What would she think if she had? I can only hope I never have to find out!_'

"Hey InuYasha." Kagome said groggily as she saw him. She looked around the room a little. "Hey, where's InuYame?"

"She left." He said. "She's going to Kyosei's village now. I guess she wanted an early start."

"Yeah, guess so. So we're going to Kaede's right? We should probably get started soon then, if we don't want to get there too late. Besides, she'll probably want to hear about InuYame! I need to get back home for school too."

'_Yes! I _knew_ she'd want to go back! Good thing this worked out, who knows how long it would've been otherwise._' InuYasha was referring to reading her journal. He'd wanted her to go to school so he could sneak it out and read it. He must've had an odd expression on his face when he was thinking this though because then Kagome said, "Don't worry InuYasha, I'll only be gone for a couple of days."

"Oh, okay, sure. We should probably get going soon though. Should we wake Sango and Miroku up?"

"Yeah, probably." Kagome got out of the left side of her cot, careful not to wake Shippo up. She then walked over to Miroku's cot to wake him up. "Get up Miroku," she said, "we have to go soon so get up!" He didn't say anything or open his eyes. He just moved his arm so that his hand was on her butt and slowly stroked it. "Uhh…" She looked down and blushed a little. She was just starting to move away when smack! She looked next to her and saw InuYasha pulling his hand up from Miroku's face. "Um, thanks InuYasha." She said a little surprised.

"No problem."

Then they noticed Miroku. "Hey! I was having a great dream!"

"Yeah, we noticed." InuYasha stated.

"Hey, what's happening guys?" They all turned around to see Sango sitting up.

"Oh, nothing, just trying to wake Miroku up."

"Okay, but why are you blushing?"

"Um! No reason, just…"

"Your fiancé over here was just stroking her butt." InuYasha cut in. Kagome shot him a look. "Hey, don't look at me like that! I just saved you from that pervert taking your clothes off!"

They all glared at him and shouted, "WHAT!"

InuYasha started backing away. "Um, uh…"

"SIT BOY!" slam InuYasha went straight into the ground. He looked up at Kagome, one eye twitching.

All the commotion had woken Shippo and Kirara up. "Hey, what's with all the noise?"

"Mew!"

"Nothing _you_ need to worry about, Shippo. Just hurry up and get ready everyone. We need to leave soon if we're going to get to Kaede's before she's asleep."

"InuYasha," Miroku said. InuYasha turned around. "Where _is_ InuYame?"

"Yeah, wasn't she supposed to come with us?" Sango asked.

"That's what I thought, but she's already started off on her way to Kyosei's." InuYasha told them.

"That's too bad. At least now I don't have to try and figure out who's who. You guys were like twins!"

"I knew you were stupid Shippo, but I thought you could at least tell the difference between a girl and a boy!"

"Hey! I'm not stupid!"

"InuYasha, lay off okay? It's like seven in the morning and you two are already at it. Just give it a rest for a little while."

"Yeah, whatever Kagome. Let's just hurry up and get done because we need to go." So the others got up from bed and started putting their few things together. InuYasha turned around and went outside. Kagome watched as he jumped into one of the trees.

"Okay, I'm done!" Kagome called to InuYasha a little while later.

"Finally!" He said, lighting down on the ground. "What about the others?"

"Yep, we're all ready. Come on guys! Let's go!" Everyone got out and they started on their trip. It was a rather long trip but they made it. Lucky for them, nothing had so much stepped into their direction the whole time. It had been a great day, just taking it easy and having a snack once in a while. The weather had been clear the whole day and everyone seemed really happy. Even InuYasha had been pretty calm the whole time. And Shippo hadn't said anything too upsetting to InuYasha either. All in all it was a really pleasant trip so when they got to Kaede's they were all feeling great.

They all quietly walked to Kaede's home since it was rather late and they didn't want to wake anyone up. "Kaede, are you home?" InuYasha called into the house. Moments later, Kaede walked up to the door.

"Well, if it isn't InuYasha and the rest of the group! Come in, come in!" They all went inside and sat down around the table. "So, what have you all been up to lately? Have you anything exciting to tell me?"

"Actually, we do." Kagome started. She went on to tell the story of how they had found InuYame and how she had stayed with them for a little while. She also told them what they had learned about her. The others told Kaede things too and all seemed pretty excited. InuYasha was very quiet the whole time though, just sitting there and listening to them all.

"Well, InuYasha, what do _you_ think of her?" Kaede asked him. "You must have _some_ opinion since you two are so much alike."

"Not really. She's just another half-demon, there isn't much to tell." They all stared at him. "What! Just because we look alike doesn't mean I like her or anything."

"But InuYasha," Kaede said, "You have never met another hanyou your age, have you? Even if you have, this is a great opportunity for you, _especially_ because you have so much in common."

"Oh well, I don't really give a damn. It's not like anything special happened between us anyway." He paused for a second, sensing the change in Kagome's heartbeat at what he had just said. "Come on, just because we have some similarities doesn't mean we're gonna get together or anything, okay? There's nothing between us. There's no, ugh, what's the word?"

"Chemistry," Kagome broke in quietly, "There's no chemistry." InuYasha looked over at her, noticing that she was looking down. '_But there is,_' she added to herself. Then a silence went out through the room. It lasted for a few minutes until Kagome got up. "I have to go now." She said, still looking down. "I'm going home, I'll be back in a couple of days. Bye." She picked up her bag and left, heading towards the Bone Eater's Well. Everyone looked around at each other.

A minute later InuYasha also got up. "I'll be gone for a little bit, guys. I'll see you when I get back." He started to leave.

"When will you get back?" Miroku asked.

"Before Kagome does." And then he left, leaving the others to wonder what he meant.

He waited for a little while outside of the village, giving Kagome a head start. The well wasn't that far off. Even so, he could easily catch up to her before she got there. He didn't want her to see him though, so he hung back a little, even as he jumped through the trees, quietly getting closer to where she was. As he got closer, her scent became stronger and he hung back even more. Then he noticed, she had stopped. She stood still at the edge of the clearing that the well was in. He stopped in a tree not too far behind her. He could see her, but he wondered why she stopped. Then she spoke.

"I know you're there InuYasha," she said quietly, "I can sense you. I know why you're there too. You want to know what I'm thinking, why I left in such an upset silence." She walked forward to the well and sat down on the edge, her feet dangling on the inside. "But you can't figure it out by just watching me, InuYasha. You have to ask me yourself, where I can see you." She waited, still sitting on the edge, to see if he would come out of the trees. InuYasha remained in his tree, watching her the whole time, unsure of what he should do. "You can follow me if you want, InuYasha, but know that it won't be so easy to get me to talk now. I gave you your chance, and you didn't take it."

InuYasha jumped down into the clearing just as Kagome jumped into the well. He froze as he caught the slightest hint of the scent of her tears. He knew he'd messed up, but he knew he had to follow her. He couldn't just let her cry when it was his fault. He knew how bad it could get, if he just left her alone. He knew, unwantingly, that he had to make it right.

"Damn it."

**Yay! I managed to get some longish descriptive paragraphs in, which I'm not that good at, so I feel proud. And the ending was good too, even if it is slightly a cliffhanger. Which doesn't help me either, cause I don't know what's going to happen until I write it! Oh well...Please review!**


	8. Apology accepted

**Well, here's an extremely long awaited chapter, I hope. I am so very sorry I haven't gotten it up before now though. I've really been meaning to finish it, but I think I finished it pretty good after waiting so long. Thank you to those who still have this in their favorites and alerts! I really hope you like this, not that it took that much work to write, but, please continue to read my story!**

**So, here it is, To Become a Prince, chapter 8. Enjoy!**

InuYasha hung back for about half an hour. He wanted to put space between him and Kagome, sure, but he also wanted to figure out what he was going to do now. At first he was just going to get a peek at Kagome's diary and leave unnoticed, but now he'd have to talk to her too. Not to mention what would happen if he did read her diary and she found out. That would be betraying her trust, and she was already upset with him for a number of reasons, no need to add another to the list. '_Great…What the hell am I going to do now? I guess, if I'm still really careful about it and all, I'll flip through that book of Kagome's. Then maybe I'll find something in there that'll help._' So with his mind made up, he jumped through the well and spent the night in the shrine.

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The next morning, he woke up early, anticipating the time at which Kagome would leave the house and go to school. When she did come out, it was a little earlier than normal, and he watched in fear as she started walking his way. He got out of the shrine and hid behind it, hoping she didn't see him do it, and from behind it he could smell her, getting ever closer. '_Great, this is just my luck._' He thought to himself. As he looked around the corner he could see Kagome. He quickly jerked his head back and put his left dog's ear to the wall. "Oh great," she said "who left the doors open?" '_Idiot!_' InuYasha thought to himself.

He started listening again and heard her lean up against the edge of the well. "Oh InuYasha…" she sighed. "What are you doing right now? Are you here? Are you still in the Feudal Era? Are you watching me right now as I speak?" InuYasha put his right hand against the wall, gently tapping it with his long fingernails as he did so. He shivered for a second, hoping she hadn't noticed. She hadn't. "Why do you do this to me? How do you hurt me so much and then make me feel so…" She trailed off, much to InuYasha's annoyance.  
She stood up and picked up her stuff which she had put on the ground. Then she walked out of the shrine and out of the grounds, down the steps and into the city. InuYasha had gotten up and watched her from the front of the shrine as she left. When she had disappeared from sight he said softly, as if she could hear him, "make you feel so…what? How do I make you feel Kagome?"

It was hard enough just to get into Kagome's room. He didn't want anyone to know he was there, lest they tell Kagome. The first thing he did then was jump onto the roof and try her window. It was locked. He thought about just busting it open, but then realized she would know it was him. So he snuck up to the back door and waited till it was clear to go in. He then started quietly going up the steps, but as a humming Mrs. Higurashi came around the corner, InuYasha jumped the stairs making a soft thump as he landed. Kagome's mom looked up to see what it was, but saw nothing since InuYasha had already bolted down the upstairs hallway in sheer fright.

He turned around the corner to see the door to Kagome's room. Slowly he walked up to it and listened. He knew very well that Kagome was long gone for school, but he wanted to check anyway. Hearing nothing, he opened the door and walked in. As he went forward, Kagome's scent rushed into his nostrils making him sigh. '_Why do I do this to myself?_' he thought. '_I got myself into this and now when I'm just getting close I get intoxicated by such a familiar scent. Argh._' Ignoring it as best he could he went to Kagome's desk and started going through the drawers. "Where is it?" he muttered. He turned around and sat on her bed. '_It's so soft, just like her… What am I thinking? I have to find that book!_' Then, as he shifted, he felt something. Kneeling on the floor he stuck one arm between the mattresses and touched it. "I got it! Yes!" he said quietly, careful not to be heard.

He pulled it out and held it in his hands for a second. It had bothered him for almost a week now, knowing Kagome had written all of her thoughts in it and that he didn't know what the words inside were. Very carefully he opened the front cover. On the first page were the words 'This journal is the property of Kagome M. Higurashi. DO NOT READ!' He flinched for a second, thinking again of Kagome's wrath at knowing what he was doing. "I came here to do this though. I've found it and now I'm going to go through with it." he told himself. It didn't help though.

Either way, he knew he had to do it now, so he got up off the floor and sat down on Kagome's bed again. Very slowly he turned the first page. He looked at the date, noticing that the year was 500 years more than normal for him, and read through the first entry. It was all about her discovering the Bone Eaters Well and how she had gone through it to the Feudal Era. As he read it, the memories came flooding back to him. He couldn't remember too much though, for some odd reason. He kept reading and suddenly one spot stuck out, and he realized, he didn't _want_ to remember quite all of it.

'_The old lady, Kaede, had said that his name was InuYasha. It fit him of course, since he was a dog demon, or rather, half of one. It was almost deceiving though, the way I first saw him, pinned to that tree looking so sadly peaceful. He looked kind and gentle, even somewhat beautiful there, but after I took the arrow out, he was completely different. He tuned into the bloodthirsty animal that he was and ripped the centipede apart. I thought maybe that that was going to be it, but then he started chasing after me, trying to _kill_ me. It was so scary. Without Lady Kaede, I surely would've been killed by him._'

InuYasha put the book down for a second, thinking about what he had just read. He had forgotten that part, about trying to kill her. '_That's so horrible, how ruthless I was!_' He decided though, that that had been in the past, so he picked up Kagome's journal again. As he slowly flipped through and scanned the pages, another scent came to his nose. It was his own. "What? I've never touched this before! Still, it has my scent on it, but how?" He kept flipping through the entries, getting closer and closer to the source of his scent. Finally he found it. As he turned another page, he saw a small, silvery strand of his own hair. It was taped onto the page and there was a small caption below it, which read '_A piece of his hair, which I found one night below his tree._' "I practically never lose hair!" InuYasha almost yelled. "Oh well, it's just one piece."

He continued to read Kagome's journal, sometimes finding more personal things that he'd rather have not read. There were things about her family and friends from her time, and things about her friends from his time. InuYasha noticed, however, that more often than not, Kagome talked about the Feudal Era, and that half of those entries, were about him. Just as he was thinking about what this might mean, and before he got to finish the book, he heard the front door to the house open and then shut. His ears twitched and he jumped off of the bed. "Oh crap, she's home! Great, I still don't know what I'm going to say to her!" So he shoved Kagome's diary back between her matresses and rushed out of the room. He sniffed the air to see where everyone was, and knowing it was safe, bounded down the hall, down the stairs, and out the back door. "Damn that was close!" he muttered.

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Kagome went into her room after saying hi to her mom and put her stuff down. She didn't have much homework today which was unusual, but lucky. She looked around the room for a few seconds until she decided to go outside. So she walked out the back door and went to the Tree of Ages. Walking around it once, she sat down at it's base and closed her eyes. "This is what connects me to the past; this and the Sacred Jewel. What would happen if the tree suddenly wasn't here anymore? Would I still be connected? Oh well, as long as it's here and I don't have to think about that, I won't."

InuYasha was off to the side where she couldn't see him, but not that far away. He heard her say that and wondered himself what would happen. His stomach started dropping and so he stopped thinking about it, and started thinking about what to say to Kagome. Finally he decided that he would just walk over and say whatever comes to him at the time. So that's what he did and he made his way to the tree, walking towards the opposite side of it that Kagome was leaning against. When he got to the tree he noticed that Kagome still had her eyes closed and he walked around and stood in front of her. His stomach sropped even more and he started to speak.

"Kagome?" Kagome opened her eyes quickly and jumped slightly, surprised by his sudden and unexpected appearance. "Will you listen to me for a minute?" He asked. He took her silence as a yes, sat down, and continued. "I'm sorry for what happened before and I hope you can understand what happened. I mean, nothing happened, and it seems like you think that something did. InuYame just said goodbye when she left." He paused for a moment. Kagome started to say something, but InuYasha wanted to finish before she said anything. "And there's nothing between us, InuYame and me. I mean, it would be weird, wouldn't it? I'm not really related to her, but she's related to Sesshoumaru, who seriously wants to kill me, and that's just really akward. I didn't mean to hurt you Kagome, and, I hope you can forgive me, for, whatever I did that hurt you."

InuYasha stopped, and waited for Kagome's response. They both just sat there for a minute, not saying anything. Then, all of a sudden, Kagome smiled, leaned forward, and put her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. InuYasha didn't know what to do at first, but then he smiled and put his arms around her back. "Thank you," Kagome whispered. InuYasha heard her of course, and smiled even more out of relief and happiness.

They released each other and stood up. "Well, InuYasha, I've got some stuff to do in the house, so, I better get inside," Kagome said.

"And I better be getting back to my time. The others are probably wondering where I am right now. Plus there's probably some demon that needs killing. So, I'll see you in a day or so."

"Alright." was Kagome's short reply. They both went in opposite directions, still smiling from the shared growth of their bond. It had turned out pretty good, InuYasha thought to himself.

"No," he said, looking into the well, "better than good. It turned out wonderfully." And he jumped down into the well to find the others.

**So, I think I ended the chapter pretty well. Anyway, please review this! I'm pretty sure I know what's going to happen next, and I have a lot of ideas for future chapters, so, who knows how long this story will be. Thanks for reading! --Yasha-sama**


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